There are three types of dashes: hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes.

The dash and the hyphen have very different roles. The dash has an essentially separating role at sentence level. The hyphen, on the other hand, has a linkig role at word and phrase level. 

(-) HYPHEN

(Pol. łącznik, dywiz) the smallest dash;

A hyphen is used to join words that combine together to form a single meaning or that are linked together as an expression, or at the end of a line when a word breaks onto the next line (these hy­phens are added and re­moved au­to­mat­i­cally by the au­to­matic hy­phen­ation in your word processor or web browser). Remember: use no spaces on either side of a hyphen (unless it is a series of number-word adjectives).

Read on to find more detailed information on the use of hyphens in compounds.

1. Compound numbers and fractions

Use hyphens with compound numbers between and including twenty-one and ninety-nine. For example:

• twenty-four, seventy-five, thirty-one

Also use hyphens to separate numerators and denominators in fractions written as words. For example:

• two-thirds, one-half, three-fourths. 

2. Compound nouns

There are compound nouns which need hyphens, some that are written as two separate words and others that are written as one word. If you are not sure of the spelling, consult a dictionary.

Some compound nouns which use hyphens are:

• father-in-law, mother-to-be, step-father, runner-up, problem-solver, T-shirt, editor-in-chief

It is worth noting, however, that hyphenated compound nouns tend to become closed compounds over time, i.e. they become single words with no hyphens. The word e-mail is more often written as one word nowadays: email.

3. Coequal nouns

Two nouns that work together as one and are equally important are called coequal nouns. They are used to describe one entity, person or role that combines both functions or characteristics. When combining such nouns, use a hyphen. For example:

• a writer-illustrator, an actor-director, a librarian-professor, an Anglo-Saxon, player-coach (This is one person who is simultaneously a player and a coach.).

!!!NOTE!!! When the first noun modifies or describes the second, do not use hyphens. For example: 

• child actor, football player, chocolate cake.

4. Compound modifiers

Use hyphens to join compound modifiers that precede nouns. For example:

• middle-class family, hard-hearted person, self-fulfilling prophecy, hard-nosed negotiations, high-powered representative, rock-hard cake, early-thirteenth-century fashions, Polish-American family, the Anglo-Saxon period. 

Use hyphens to join adjectives with adverbs such as better, best, ill, lower, little, and well. For example:

• well-known politician, well-trained dog, better-prepared students, ill-mannered boy.

Compound modifiers that include present or past participles follow the same rules as any other compound modifier, so use hyphens to join compound modifiers such as:

• sports-loving uncle, fear-inspired devotion, hate-filled speech.

Use hyphens to join compound modifiers that contain numbers. For example:

• two-minute drill, seven-meter tape, second-semester test, twentieth-century literature, 20-minute speech.

Series of number-word adjectives use a hyphen-comma combination except for the last item in the series. For example:

• two-, four-, and six-foot lengths; two- and four-legged vertebrates; twelve-, thirteen-, and fourteen-year-old children.

!!!NOTE!!! If the words functioning as a single adjective follow the noun, they are not hyphenated. For example:

• The author is well known. BUT: This is a well-known author.

• The dog is well trained. BUT: This is a well-trained dog.

• Those peanuts are chocolate covered. BUT: These are chocolate-covered peanuts.

• His son is ill mannered. BUT: He has an ill-mannered son.

5. Phrases as modifiers

Use hyphens to separate words in phrases functioning as modifiers that precede nouns. For example:

• over-the-counter medication, good-for-nothing clothes, out-of-this-world experience, fly-by-night operation, all-you-can-eat buffet.

6. Prefixes and suffixes

Use hyphens with certain prefixes such as all-, anti-, ex-, half-, mid-, neo-, post-, pre-, pro-, self-, and vice- or that end with the suffix –elect. For example:

• ex-wife, half-baked, all-purpose, mid-century, self-employed, pre-Raphaelite, president-elect.

The prefix great- is also followed by a hyphen when it is used to show a family relationship, like in:

• great-grandfather, great-aunt

Use hyphens with the prefixes anti-, mid-, neo-, post-, pre-, and pro- that precede proper nouns and numbers. For example:

• mid-1970s, anti-American, pro-European.

Use hyphens to separate a prefix from the main word in order to avoid confusion (see 7. below).

7. Avoid confusion and misreading

Use hyphens to avoid confusion and misreading, as well as awkward spellings. For example:

• re-sign (meaning to sign again, not resign meaning quit), re-cover (meaning to provide with a new cover, not recover after an illness)

• English-language student (a student studying English, not an English speaking student studying language)

• co-owners (not *coowners)

 For more rules and examples concerning the use of hyphens see:

• • • Smith, B. 2003, pp. 153–157. 

    • Gibaldi, J. 2003, pp. 88–90.

    • Bright Hub Education

    • Grammarly

To find out why hyphens and proofreading are important, read this Daily Mail article :) 

(–) EN DASH

(Pol. półpauza/myślnik) a line the length of two hyphens when writing, or two hyphens in a row (--) when typing. Many computer word processing programs will automatically turn two hyphens into an en dash when the next word is typed. There should be no space between the en dash and the adjacent material unless the en dash is used where an em dash would normally be used (see below).

An en dash is normally used:

• to in­di­cate a range of val­ues (1901–1912, pages 221–245, Ex­hibits A–D; here it substitutes ‘to’)

!!!NOTE!!! If you open with ‘from,’ pair it with ‘to’ instead of an en dash (from 1901 to 1912, not *from 1901–1912).

• to join two words that are separate but related (en dash can be thought of as substitutes for ‘and’ or 'to'), for example: work–life balance (two distinct things that need to be balanced), New York–London flight (a connection or route between two places), the liberal–conservative debate ( a debate between two different ideologies). The en dash shows a relationship or interaction between distinct elements, rather than fusing them into one (as is the situation with coequal nouns).

(—) EM DASH

(Pol. pauza/myślnik) the least common type of dash. 

Normally used to form parenthetic phrases, to make a break be­tween parts of a sen­tence, for example: ‘parenthetic phrases — such as this one — are separated from the main clause by dashes.’ (The en dash is often used instead.)

In American English the em dash is more often used without spaces on either side. In British English spaces can be added on either side of the dash (like in the example above). Remember to be consistent!

For rules concerning the use of dashes see:

• • • Smith, B. 2003, pp. 158–159.

    • Gibaldi, J. 2003, p. 87.

For more information and examples of the use of dashes, see the student presentation below. 

HYPHENS AND DASHES IN POLISH

For more information on hyphens and dashes in Polish see: 

• • • polszczyzna.pl